Years ago when I first started to cook professionally, my late friend Rosa Green gave me a book called The Flavor Principle Cookbook, by Elisabeth Rozin. The book’s premise is that in every cuisine there are a few characteristic combinations of flavors—for example, soy sauce, ginger, and rice wine or sherry in Chinese cooking, and tomatoes, olive oil, and cinnamon in Greek cooking. This made me realize that Mexican food, too, rests on a few defining flavors that keep appearing in different ways, whether you are combining a chopped tomato with a couple of seasonings or making a lengthy presentation like mole negro oaxaqueño.
